"The two elderly ladies made it clear they wanted to be arrested," says CHP spokesman Steve Krul. All prisoners are required to be handcuffed, Krul added, but due to their age the ladies were not cuffed behind their backs.

CalTrans had advance word of the protest, and prepared employees, locking doors and parking elsewhere. In a seeming coincidence, the protest timing corresponded to a previously scheduled KGO-TV tour of the bypass zone and interviews with protesters and CalTrans.

Mary N. Korte, 78, of Willits and Priscilla Thimas, 76, of Ukiah were arrested on suspicion of trespassing. They were booked at the Mendocino County Jail and released.

In other protest news, the Brooktrails Board of Directors voted Tuesday to reconsider its March 26 resolution pledging continued support for the bypass. The motion will be agendized for the May 14 board meeting.

Board President Tony Orth recused himself from the issue and it passed unanimously.

Board members indicated their support for the reconsideration was to provide the community more opportunity to weigh in on the issue.

On March 26, only three members of the public were present for the initial resolution vote, and none spoke about it. Since that time, Brooktrails board meetings have been well-attended.

About 30 people attended Tuesday's meeting, most protesting the bypass.

The board also passed a resolution requesting the Fair Political Practices Commission issue an opinion on the need for Orth to recuse himself from any decision relating to the bypass. During the discussion, Director Rick Williams apprised the community he had proposed the original resolution, not Orth.